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Spectacular Skyscraper in Canada by Foster+Partners

Jameson House is an unique and spectacular skyscraper which offers an architectural legacy to Vancouver, Canada. This mixed-use residential project is a result of a team effort of Foster+Partners architects and a clear commitment to sustainability, architects working closely with environmental engineers. Jameson House develops a number of key themes that have been integral to Foster+ Partners’ work for many years, demonstrating innovation. The building is an exemple of a combination between old and new, restoration with new construction, high-quality finishes and postmodern design, a location that combines living and working under one roof, encouraging social activity and balancing energy consumption. Plans of the site include full restoration of the A-listed 1921 Ceperley Rounsfell Building and retention of the front facade of the B-listed 1929 Chamber of Mines. Although in 2008 all work at the project was stopped as bank financing was withdrawn due to global economic problems, it was completed at the end of last year and the building is now almost fully occupied.

With a height of 116m, this mixed-use residential building has 38 above ground storeys, 9 below ground and 138 apartments. Retail and restaurants are on the bottom three floors, eight floors of office space and 25 levels of various residential condominiums. The residential floors curve outwards in four wide bays, which are staggered to allow daylight to reach neighbouring buildings and oriented to provide uninterrupted views of the landscape. The apartments’s interiors and living spaces have also amazing modern designs with balconies and deep bay windows looking out towards the Vancouver’s fantastic natural setting. At the top of the tower are two-storey penthouse apartments and landscaped roof terraces. This collaborative approach led to innovations such as chilled floors and a mechanised valet parking system, which reduces the number of parking levels and associated excavation, lighting and ventilation requirements. The building’s underground parking facilities are designed in an European-style, being fully-automated non-pallet parkade, the first in North America, where cars are mechanically stacked and racked and can be retrieved in around 90 seconds.

What is worth mentioning is that the building’s structure was designed to LEED Gold standards. Jamson House is a “green” project which features Vancouver’s first cogeneration plant, which is powered by bio-diesel and have a water recycling system. The building’s exterior design of the façade have been determined by the direction of prevailing winds as well as solar exposure.